Daily Archives: October 7, 2026

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – The Way of Escape

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No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:6-13

We read the story of the Hebrew slaves coming out of Egypt as history. But the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that within the story there is found an example—an example for us about the dangers of yielding to temptation (1 Corinthians 10:6-11).

The Israelites had the opportunity to avoid sin in the wilderness, but they failed to take advantage of it. Paul warned the Corinthians to be careful: If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall (verse 12). We, like the Israelites in the wilderness, will be tempted to sin. Also like the Israelites, God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure but will provide a way of escape. It is up to us to take the way of escape that He provides.

Do not be surprised when you face temptation; every person is tempted. Look immediately for the way of escape God has provided.

Wherever temptation is, there is God also.
Hannah Whitall Smith

 

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Longing For Jesus’ Return

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Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20

Today’s Scripture

Philippians 3:17-21

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Today’s Devotion

When I was young, I loved going to Chick-fil-A, a US-based fast-food restaurant, for waffle fries and sweet tea. When, as an adult, I moved to another state, I was shocked to discover there weren’t any locations for hundreds of miles! On family road trips, we’d even plan our routes to allow for stops at Chick-fil-A, all the while hoping someday one would open closer to home.

Longing. We all experience it. Sometimes we don’t actually need what we long for, such as a favorite restaurant. Other times, our longings reflect deeper, more desperate yearnings.

Writing to the Philippian believers, Paul reminded them to live their lives in light of their deepest longing—Christ’s return and the full coming of His kingdom (Philippians 3:20). Jesus’ coming would make everything whole and transform believers to be like Him (v. 21).

Rather than merely longing for what can’t bring lasting satisfaction, Paul says it’s this coming reality that believers “eagerly await” (v. 20)—the day when there will be no more suffering, when we’ll see Jesus face-to-face.

Knowing our longings will one day be satisfied gives us the hope we need to live for Christ each day (vv. 12-14).

A Chick-fil-A recently opened a few miles from my house, a small reminder that a much more important longing will one day be fulfilled. Until then, we wait.

Reflect & Pray

What do you long to see Jesus make right? What do you most anticipate about your future with Jesus?

Dear Jesus, please fill us with hope as we wait for Your return.

Today’s Insights

When Paul wrote Philippians, he was writing from prison (1:13). While there, he also wrote Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, which are referred to as the Prison Epistles. How did the apostle endure such difficult times? In part, by focusing beyond that moment to when he’d see his Savior and in part by focusing on others. While imprisoned, his heart was breaking for those who were living in opposition to the gospel: “As I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18). His tears demonstrated his concern for others. Our hope in Jesus and concern for others can lift us beyond our present circumstances to lives of hope and purpose as we wait for our longings to be fulfilled when Christ returns (vv. 14, 21).

For further study, read: All Things New

 

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Prominent televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86

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This morning’s headlines are breaking the news that well-known televangelist Jim Bakker died Monday at the age of eighty-six. His wife, Lori Bakker, announced his passing; his cause of death was not immediately clear.

“He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry,” she said. The two hosted The Jim Bakker Show on the PTL Satellite Network Bakker had founded many years earlier.

Of course, Lori’s statement about her husband is not what is dominating the coverage of Bakker’s death. As the Associated Press reports, he “built an evangelical empire around the hugely successful The PTL Club TV show, only to lose it all over a sex scandal and financial crimes.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – Prominent televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86 →

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – How Can I Make a Difference for God?

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 The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war. 

—2 Chronicles 16:9

Scripture:

2 Chronicles 16:9 

Before he became a great evangelist, D. L. Moody found himself in a conversation with another evangelist named Henry Varley. Varley said to Moody, “The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him.”

Those words burrowed deep into Moody’s heart. He replied with something along the lines of, “I will try my utmost to be that man.” He came very close to finding out. God accomplished immeasurable things in and through D. L. Moody. Countless lives were transformed because of his ministry. You might say D. L. Moody was a “book of Acts” type of guy.

The book of Acts tells the story of ordinary men and women who accomplished extraordinary things because they allowed God to have His way in their lives. When some troublemakers in Thessalonica tried to stir up a vigilante mob against Paul and Silas, they said, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (Acts 17:6 NKJV). God used Paul, Silas, and countless others to turn their world upside down. He wants to use you for the same purpose.

Are you willing? The process starts with your saying, “Lord, I want to make a difference. I don’t want this world to turn me around. I want to turn it around. Use me.”

The world has yet to see what God can do with and through the person who is totally committed to Him. Will God find such a person today? I wonder if you, like D. L. Moody, would say, “I want to be that person.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (NLT). This isn’t a BYOS—Bring Your Own Strength—calling. You don’t need to be naturally strong to turn your world upside down. Or naturally gifted. Or naturally charismatic. You just need to commit yourself to God and His purposes. The Lord will do the rest.

If you will commit to the Lord, there’s no telling what kind of difference you can make in the world. There’s no telling how far the ripples of your ministry will extend—throughout the world and throughout the years. It will be exciting in the days ahead to see what God will do through and with you. But He wants you to be available to Him.

One of these days, your life will come to an end. What will you say about it? What will others say about it?

How great it would be to say, like the world-up-ender Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” (2 Timothy 4:7 NLT).

Reflection question: What would a total commitment to God look like in your life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Who and What to Esteem

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” (Hebrews 11:26)

We hear much today about the importance of self-esteem, with the implication that lack of self-esteem is the cause of many of the personal problems and antisocial activities of so many young people (and others as well) these days.

But this is not the biblical perspective. The problem really is too much self-esteem. The biblical command is that we should “in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). The man Moses was once a prince of Egypt, perhaps in line to become the pharaoh, but he chose Christ and the people of God instead, “esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt” (our text).

Paul the apostle could have become the greatest teacher and leader in the religious/political life of his own Jewish people, but he said, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7–8). In these verses, “count” is the same word in the original Greek language as “esteem.”

Similarly, the apostle James assures us that we should “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations”—that is, trials that test your faith—“knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2–3).

Therefore, if we would truly conform to the will of God for our lives, we should be esteeming others more than cultivating self-esteem in ourselves, esteem knowing and serving Christ more than all the riches and fame of the world, and esteem it a joyful privilege when we are enabled to grow more like Him through the trials and testings He permits us to experience. HMM

 

 

 

https://www.icr.org/articles/type/6

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Dealing with Difficult People

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Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who observe justice [treating others fairly] and who do right and are in right standing with God at all times.

Psalm 106:3 (AMPC)

Many of our trials in life are the result of other people. Someone else’s failure, carelessness, ignorance, or sin affects us, and we understandably pray for God to change him or her.

Even though we want others to change and treat us better, I have discovered that it is better for me to focus on how I treat people than on how they treat me. Sometimes God uses the things about people that irritate us to change us. He makes us more tolerant and patient and enables us to love unconditionally.

Pray for people, but don’t forget to pray for yourself that your reaction to their weaknesses will be what God wants it to be.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I need Your help to love the people who drive me crazy and to show them Your love no matter what is going on. Help me to look to You for guidance, to respond with patience and grace, and to treat others the way You want me to, amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Waiting on Help 

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The man near the pool of Bethesda didn’t use the word “stuck,” but he sure could have. For 38 years near the edge of a pool, it was just him, his mat, and his paralyzed body. And since no one would help him, help never came.

Crowds of people, despondent, dejected, one after the other, awaited their chance to be placed in the pool where healing waters bubbled up. Can you envision them? And more important, can you envision Jesus walking among them?

All the gospels’ stories of help and healing invite us to embrace this wonderful promise: “Wherever Jesus went, he healed people of every sort of illness. And what pity he felt for the crowds that came because their problems were so great and they didn’t know what to do or where to go for help” (Matthew 9:35-36 TLB).

My friend, remember Jesus sees you and you are never alone.

 

 

 

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Today in the Word

Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Overflowing Gratitude

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Read Deuteronomy 26:1–11

A popular health website recommends eight “miracle foods”: avocados, blueberries, green tea, kale, lentils, quinoa, walnuts, and red wine. Blueberries, for example, are full of antioxidants and can help prevent cataracts, varicose veins, heart disease, and cancer. Walnuts improve cognitive (brain) function and memory, aid in gut health, and support heart health by reducing cholesterol and blood pressure.

We could also say that worship through giving is good for our spiritual health. Yesterday we read about the principle of “firstfruits,” that is, offering the first or best of what we have to the Lord. In Deuteronomy 26 we see that same principle put into practice during Israel’s entry into the promised land (vv. 1–4). The presentation of the firstfruits was accompanied by an affirmation of God’s faithful promise-keeping. It also admitted the people’s hopelessness without that. This was done through a vivid testimony about their liberation from Egypt (vv. 5–10).

This national origin story is rather unusual: Their forefather Jacob went to Egypt to survive. His descendants became enslaved. But the Lord heard their cries for help and freed them “with a mighty hand.” Then He brought them to a “land flowing with milk and honey,” a metaphorical picture of abundance. All the glory is given to God, not human heroes, for this amazing history.

The basket of firstfruits would then lead to rejoicing and gratitude for all of God’s various blessings (v. 11). It’s important to note that “foreigners” (or sojourners) are included. This means that the Exodus and God’s awesome “signs and wonders” had inspired faith even in some non-Israelites (for example, Rahab and her family). This testimony became a kind of recitation of God’s covenant faithfulness.

Go Deeper

What’s your testimony or salvation narrative? Does it glorify the Lord and rejoice in His blessings to you? How might you incorporate it into holiday celebrations?

Pray with Us

Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your plan of redemption! Let us, together with the psalmist, proclaim, “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD” (Ps. 78:4).

Now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, LORD, have given me.Deuteronomy 26:10

 

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/